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Civil War Commemorated At Van Buren Historic Site

Members of the Drennen-Scott Historic Site in Van Buren showed off some real-life pieces of Civil War history despite drizzling rain and cold temperatures Saturday.

Clad in authentic Union Army regalia, Tom Wing, director of the Drennen-Scott Historic Site and a history professor at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, demonstrated what life was like for the infantry during the Civil War in Crawford County to about 20 spectators at the site, 221 N. Third Street in Van Buren, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

“It was particularly brutal for people in this area,” Wing said. “You’re finding out how tough it was to be a soldier in the 18th and 19th centuries.”

The Drennen-Scott House worked in conjunction with Arkansas State Parks and UAFS to bring the Civil War to life.

In 1862, federal troops made their way through Crawford County and pushed Confederate troops from Van Buren to the Fort Smith side of the Arkansas River. The Drennen-Scott House commemorates the federal takeover of Confederate-held Van Buren, Wing said.

Wing began by demonstrating the proper way a soldier would load and fire a musket. Pre-Civil War muskets were loaded from a pouch with gunpowder, and set off with a spark from the trigger mechanism. The problem with early muskets before the Civil War was that they had trouble functioning in the rain, Wing said.

Saturday’s temperatures hovered in the upper 40s with a light rain that drizzled off and on throughout the presentation.

“You’re about to see whether I’m lucky today or not,” Wing said, as he fired off the early model musket with a bit of a spark, but no discharge.

Wing followed the early musket presentation with a Civil War-era rifle, which used a cap to cover the area where the spark was set off. The upgrade in weapon technology enabled troops to shoot more accurately and from a longer range, thus causing significant casualties, Wing said. This time Wing fired the weapon with no problem.

Wing stressed the significant number of American soldiers lost during the Civil War in comparison to other conflicts the nation has been involved with in the past. There were nearly 57,000 casualties in just three days at the battle of Gettysburg, compared to about the same number lost during the entire Vietnam War, Wing said.

“Every war is tragic, but the Civil War is particularly that way,” Wing said. “We should think about that.”

David and Heather Polk of Van Buren arrived at the demonstration with their two sons, Brayden, 12, and Greyson, 9. Heather Polk said her younger son, Greyson, was a Civil War fanatic and encouraged the family to come out to the site before heading off to play a baseball game.

Greyson had previously gone to the site on Monday with a troop of about 50 Cub Scouts, and decided he wanted to see the inside of the house for himself.

His brother, Brayden, seemed slightly less enthusiastic than his younger brother.

“It’s all right,” Brayden said, shrugging his shoulders.

Greyson walked around the inside of the historic site and observed several of the exhibits wide-eyed, but said he was really waiting to see the site’s authentic Civil War cannon be shot off. He said he previously saw a cannon shot at Vicksburg, and dressed up as a Confederate soldier for Halloween. His parents said he also has several Civil War-era items including hats and replica guns.

Greyson said even though his friends don’t quite share the same enthusiasm for Civil War history that he has, he took it upon himself to learn about it. He said he “just decided it was neat.”

After the Polks checked out the interior of the Drennen-Scott House, they and other spectators ventured outside in the rain to see the volunteers of the site shoot off the cannon. The cannon was on loan from Lake Charles State Park near Walnut Ridge.

Before firing, Wing and five other members of the site, also dressed in full blue Union Army regalia, explained the process. It took five men to load, prepare and fire the weapon, each soldier having a specific job.

The cannon firing was successful and afterward, other members of the site made presentations, including what life was like for women and families at the time, and a Power Point presentation. More infantry and artillery demonstrations followed.

This is the second year of the Drennen-Scott House restoration. The site is open to the public Thursdays through Saturdays in Van Buren.